Townsend, Tennessee - Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, East Tennessee and Western North Carolina

Welcome to the Fishing Report from the Great Smoky Mountains. It is foggy, frosty and 27 degrees in Townsend this morning. Traffic is light on the Sunday morning. It is going to be nice today, sunny and 56 degrees.

Little River is flowing at 307 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.30 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 249 cfs. The water temperature at 8:15 am is 40.5 degrees. Though it was sunny and fairly warm yesterday, the water temperature only rose to 42 degrees.

Fishing is slow but persistent anglers are catching trout, few and far between. One young man I talked to Friday got skunked. I don’t think he was getting his nymph deep enough. Yesterday he tried again and reported success. I think he caught one trout but he was happy and so am I.

It is going to get a lot warmer this week. Highs will be in the 50’s and 60’s. Lows will be in the 40’s and 50’s. We will see the water warm and fishing will improve. We will probably get more rain Thursday and Friday. So, better fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains is in the near future.

Fly tyers are active. They are also loving our new fly tying department. I’ve been ordering more merchandise and will continue to do so for a couple of days. I ordered Umpqua hooks and Metz hackle yesterday. Wapsi got an order this weekend and so did Hareline Dubbin. Whiting Farms is next. Then, Wapsi again. This will be a continuous cycle during the Winter months.

Bill Boyd Sr. and Bill Boyd Jr. held a fly tying demonstration yesterday at the shop. They did great as usual. We had a busy day too. Most days are going to be busy until after New Years Day. At that point, most of our business will be in the fly tying department until February. We will also get orders from people in warm States and Countries where fly fishing is still going on. We don’t ship much to the Southern Hemisphere. That is hard to do. We did ship an order to France on Saturday. Another is going to a former Russian Republic tomorrow. Daniel didn’t say which country it is.

We have a great lineup for you next Saturday. Rob Fightmaster and Tradd Little will be conducting a fly tying demonstration for you from 10 am til 2 pm. It’s Free. Just show up. We will also give away a $100 LRO Gift Card. We’ve been doing that every Saturday this Fall when we hold Saturday events.

Rob is a good old Kentucky boy like me though he is younger. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. He moved to Tennessee about 15 years ago and worked with us and Blackberry Farm. He later became the manager of the fly fishing program at the Farm. Then, he decided to become a full time guide. He has been very successful at that. He is a great fly tyer. His kind and patient personality, fly fishing experience and teaching expertise makes him a great guide. He is an excellent communicator and you won’t experience a negative attitude with this guy. He is a fun person to spend the day with. I’ve done it many times.

Tradd Little is 11 years old. I met him about 6 weeks ago in the shop. I’ve never seen a better fly tyer this young. He sent me some of his flies recently and I was blown away. Tradd lives in South Carolina. He mom and dad brought him by here to buy materials. They also took him to Bass Pro Shop and the Orvis Store in Sevierville that same day. What a shopping experience that was! When he was here, I gave him a book, a very special fly tying book that one of my friends gave me. He told me to find a good home for the book. I did. Tradd walked out of the store with it that day. His dad and I have corresponded several times since then. I asked if Tradd was willing to tie at the shop and he said yes. So, Tradd will be here next Saturday, December 7th.

You need to be here next Saturday. You can see our entire Saturday Special Events Calendar by CLICKING HERE. We’ve got a lot going on this Winter. You will also see our fly tying class dates on the list.

The Townsend Christmas Parade will be held on Sunday the 8th. Our parade is one of the most visited holiday events in our County. You will see marching bands, floats, antique cars and trucks and antique tractors for hours parading through town. The floats are all made locally and they are done very well. Kids and adults will be riding horses. You will see horses everywhere. And of course, Santa will be pulled by two beautiful mules owned by Rick Myers. I always go over and talk to Rick and Santa when they are setting up the parade in front of our store. I marvel at the harnesses on Rick’s mules.

I’ve always liked mules. We had a mule when I was a kid. She was used to cultivate tobacco on our farm. When she was replaced by a special tractor, dad sold her to a farmer down the road. That mule could jump a fence and she did. She did that several times. She always came back to our farm. I think we ended up keeping her.

I have know Santa for many years. I talked to him a few days ago. Most people don’t know this, but Santa has a Louisiana accent. I don’t know if he picked that up from an elf or by watching Duck Dynasty. I love to hear Santa talk. Actually, his accent is much thicker than the guys and gals on Duck Dynasty. Santa is my neighbor when he is not in the North Pole. I drive by his workshop every day. He’s always out there making toys. He is also the slowest driver in Townsend. I’m the second slowest driver according to Frank, one of our policemen who would know.

I guess you can tell, the holidays have begun. I can’t help but mention that we are here for you and your angler. We don’t charge for shipping and our gift cards make the perfect gift. That’s all for the commercial break today.